Kingdom of Hidden Blooms
by LisetteFrassin
Summary: The building of a relationship, and bonds in a ninja village, told in loosely connected snippets and scenes. Sakura-centric. Various Pairings.
1. Welcome Home

_Kingdom of Hidden Blooms_

**Summary**: The building of a relationship, and bonds in a ninja village, told in loosely connected snippets and scenes. Or in which, Sakura realizes that the people around her are changing right with her.

Sakura-centric

Various pairings, kind of canon compliant.

**Disclaimer: Naruto does not belong to me; Kishimoto thought of it first.**

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><p><em>[2am, Kohonagakure, East gate]<em>

By the time they make it back to the village, Sakura feels the past few days catching up with her, and the only coherent thoughts she feels like entertaining are the directives that will lead her to her bed.

She and Tenten turn to each other and nod; one week of working together have established enough familiarity between them that they can agree, without having to explicitly state anything; reporting to the Hokage about their findings can wait until the morning.

Just as Sakura opens her mouth to say goodnight, Tenten tenses up as if she is expecting a blow, causing Sakura to inspect the area for signs of danger.

After a moment, Sakura senses it too, and bites back a groan.

"TENTEN! SAKURA-SAN!" At an impossible speed for a normal ninja to react to, Rock Lee is upon them and envelops Tenten in a soul-bruising hug.

"The both of you have returned safe and sound as I knew you would! The power of youth prevails!"

Sakura wonders if there has ever been a more open and emotional ninja than Rock Lee. Maito Gai comes to mind, and she bites back another groan.

As she entertains the thought of Gai-sensei as the most exuberant shinobi in the world, Lee suddenly pins her with his unsettling gaze, and slips into declaration pose #2: impassioned promise. Ohh, no.

"Please allow me to escort you home, Sakura-san!"

Sakura feels a curious shifting in the region where her heart is and squashes it down viciously.

"Ah, that's okay...I think I'll be fine for tonight, Lee-san. I'm so tired, I'd make really poor company right now, anyway."

Lee's smile dims, and Sakura is irrationally sad to see it. The shifting in her heart moves more insistently at his disappointment and she nearly closes her eyes at the echoing restlessness she feels.

"I understand Sakura-san, rest well! The Springtime of youth burns brightest when the day is young and the intensity of will is new! Yosh!"  
>He slips into a muted version of nice-guy pose, to which Sakura bows slightly, her smile becoming more genuine in return.<p>

As she heads in the direction of her home, the part of her heart that she smothers begins to whisper things in a language that isn't her own.

_The answers are here, if you have the will to seek._

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><p>It has been a very long time indeed since I have written fiction, so any construction criticism would be welcome.<p>

**A note on Sakura: This story takes place after Part 1 of Naruto. She's grown up quite a bit, and my intent is to reflect that change and to pull away from the immaturity I found to be greatly exaggerated.**

Please review and thanks for reading!

-Lisette


	2. The Burning Village

_Kingdom of Hidden Blooms_

**Summary**: The building of a relationship, and bonds in a ninja village, told in loosely connected snippets and scenes. Or in which, Sakura has a nightmare.

Sakura-centric

Various pairings, kind of canon compliant.

**Disclaimer: Naruto does not belong to me; Kishimoto thought of it first.**

*I read another story where the author utilized a different language in an incredibly profound way. I loved the idea so much, that I wanted to incorporate it into my story. I will be using a basic translator, so if anyone knows Mandarin Chinese and would care to correct my slaughtering of the language, I would greatly appreciate it.

Unagikeki, I tip my hat to you for the wonderfully creative thought.

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><p><em>Chapter Two: The Burning Village<em>

Sakura was dreaming of fire.

The whole village was burning, and she sat helpless before the Hokage tower as embers rained down, consuming her whole world.

_How did it come to this? _

All around her, ninja and civilian alike, lay in the street, lifeless and darkened from the soot in the air. She couldn't find anyone she knew. She couldn't find Naruto. She gazes into the sky in a moment of utter helplessness to watch the dark clouds roil over each other.

_Why was she the only one left alive? This is not how things were supposed to be..!_

Movement flashes in her peripheral and she pivots her head to see a shadow watching her from the window where her Shishou used to watch the village.

_Shishou!_

Hope and denial flood her stuttering heart like a deluge of water, and she races to the top of the tower, hoping against all odds that Tsunade lived, that she wasn't all alone in this hell.

The doors to the Hokage's office were missing from their hinges and inside, she could see no sign of the Godaime Hokage; but there is a corpse in the corner that looks disturbingly like Shizune. Sakura cannot look at the corpse for long and turns resolutely away from it as tears start to slip down her cheeks. Doggedly, she continues to search for the sign of life she thought she saw by the Hokage's shattered desk.

A shadow detaches from the wall nearby and stalks towards her. It is not her Shishou. Sakura is not sure what it is.

"Ruo."

The creature's eyes pierce her, bleeding an orange glow that locks her knees up and stops her heart.

"Ni gandao gudu."

Its voice crackles like fire and though she could not understand its language, she feels its mockery resonate in her heart.

"Ni hui zenme zuo renzhe?"

A sharp pain spikes suddenly in her chest, and she sits down, uncaring of the viscous substance on the floor that feels a lot like blood, seeping into her skirt and making her feel legs slick.

"I don't..understand.."

The creature snarls, and pins her to the floor painfully by the arm. Sakura is overwhelmed by the smell of burning flesh and killing intent.

"Tamen jiang ni liu xia rang ni xuanze fangqi?"

The throbbing in her heart is deafening now, the pain in her arm pulsating with it, but she cannot find the will to look away from its terrible gaze. She tells herself that this is not real. "Wake up, Sakura..come on."

"Shagua! Ni shi ruo bao zhu ta de jiyi. Guoqu zai ye bu hui huilai."

Then it bit down on her arm.

"_Yongbao ni de weilai. Ni buneng gaibian mingyun._"

Sakura awakens and sits up in her hospital bed with a gasp, clutching at her heart. She glances around the room's she in frantically, searching for signs of the creature that maimed her; she finds a vase with delicate looking flowers in the window sill, and a glass of water by her bed. The bite of the creature still felt frighteningly real and she rubs her arm furiously to get rid of the sensation.

"S-Sakura-chan, you're awake!" "Sakura-san!"

Naruto and Lee stand in the doorway, the former holding a cup of ramen. Naruto's eyes are like luminous sapphires and Sakura thinks that she's never seen a more beautiful blue in her life; Lee's smile is warm, and bright, and it's just so full of life that she cries a little. She extends her arms out in a gesture she hasn't done since she was six.

"P-please..."

Naruto immediately understands the movement and goes to her bedside, discarding the ramen to gather her up. Feeling the warmth of a real, whole person, Sakura relaxes, and allows him to rock her. She watches Lee who comes to stand next to her and Naruto, watching her with concern. She offers her hand to him and he takes it with both of his.

Naruto, her teammate, her best friend, and Rock Lee, her friend who has always cared for her...

They are her precious people. She makes a vow to protect them with all she is. She will never let anything like her dream come to pass.

_Embrace your future._

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><p>If you'd like to know what the creature was saying, you can try your hand at a translator for Mandarin, but otherwise, I'm leaving it as a surprise. There's a reason why Sakura could not understand it.<p>

You may have guessed it already, but Lee is going to feature prominently in this story. I really enjoy his character.

Please review and thanks for reading!


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